{{distinguish2|[[Public Broadcasting Services]] in Malta, [[Public Broadcast Service]] in Barbados, or [[Philippine Broadcasting Service]] in the Philippines; for other uses, see [[PBS (disambiguation)]]}}

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The '''Public Broadcasting Service''' (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting [[television]] service in the [[United States]]. PBS is affiliated with [[National Public Radio]], American Public Media, and Public Radio International through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a entity of the federal government. Each member station is owned by independently but they share programming and funding which means they show similar programs.

PBS, along with [[NPR]], has been accused of aiming its broadcast toward wealthy, elite segments of the American population while neglecting others, who nonethless pay for the programming. When Congress debated cutting funding for NPR and PBS, House Democrats appealed to the children's programming on PBS such as [[Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood]] (1968-2001) and [[Sesame Street]] (1969-present). Puppets of Sesame Street characters were brought into the House chambers, and Rep. [[Ed Markey]] (D-MA) commented: "Oscar the Grouch has been friendlier to the Sesame Street characters than President Bush." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4693682.stm] Most of PBS's programming, however, is aimed at children as they feed over 12 hours of children's programming every day of the week versus 6-8 hours of adult programming.

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PBS is the most prominent provider of [[television program]]s to U.S. public television stations, distributing series such as ''[[Sesame Street]]'', ''[[PBS NewsHour]]'', ''[[Masterpiece (TV series)|Masterpiece]]'', and ''[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]]''. Since the mid-2000s, [[GfK|Roper]] polls commissioned by PBS have consistently placed the service as America's most-trusted national institution.<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/news/20090213_pbsropersurvey.html | title=PBS #1 in public trust for the sixth consecutive year, according to a national Roper survey | date=February 13, 2009 | publisher=PBS | accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref> However, PBS is not responsible for all programming carried on public TV stations; in fact, stations usually receive a large portion of their content (including most [[pledge drive]] specials) from [[third-party sources]], such as [[American Public Television]], NETA, [[WTTW|WTTW National Productions]] and independent producers. This distinction is a frequent source of viewer confusion.<ref>{{cite web | author=Michael Getler | title=Caution: That Program May Not Be From PBS | url=http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2008/05/caution_that_program_may_not_be_from_pbs.html | publisher=PBS | date=May 15, 2008 | accessdate=2008-12-30}}</ref>

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PBS also has a [[subsidiary]] called [[National Datacast]] (NDI), which offers [[datacasting]] services via member stations. This helps PBS and its member stations earn extra [[revenue]].

PBS was founded on October 5, 1970, at which time it took over many of the functions of its predecessor, [[National Educational Television]] (NET), which later merged with station WNDT, [[Newark, New Jersey]], to form [[WNET]].<ref>{{cite web | author=Public Broadcasting PolicyBase | url=http://www.current.org/pbpb/documents/PBSarticles69.html | title=Articles of Incorporation of Public Broadcasting Service | work=Current Newspaper |date=January 14, 2000 | accessdate=2008-01-12}}</ref> In 1973, it merged with [[Educational Television Stations]].<ref name="JARVIK">Jarvik, Laurence Ariel, ''PBS, behind the screen'', Rocklin, CA : Forum, 1997. ISBN 0761506683</ref>

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[[Category: Liberal Bias]]

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Unlike the model of America's [[commercial broadcasting]] [[television network]]s, in which affiliates give up portions of their local advertising airtime in exchange for network programming, PBS member stations pay fees for the shows acquired and distributed by the national organization.

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This relationship means that PBS member stations have greater latitude in local scheduling than their commercial broadcasting counterparts. Scheduling of PBS-distributed series may vary greatly from market to market. This can be a source of tension as stations seek to preserve their localism, and PBS strives to market a consistent national line-up. However, PBS has a policy of "common carriage" requiring most stations to clear the national [[prime-time]] programs on a common [[broadcast programming]] schedule, so that they can be more effectively marketed on a national basis.

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Unlike its radio counterpart, [[National Public Radio]], PBS has no central program production arm or news department. All of the programming carried by PBS, whether news, documentary, or entertainment, is created by (or in most cases produced under contract with) other parties, such as individual member stations. [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]] in [[Boston]] is one of the largest producers of [[educational television]] programming, including ''[[American Experience]]'', ''[[Masterpiece Theater]]'', ''[[Nova (TV series)|Nova]]'', ''[[Antiques Roadshow]]'' and ''[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]]'', as well as many other children's and lifestyle shows. News programs are produced by [[WETA-TV]] (''[[PBS Newshour]]'') in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[WNET]] in [[New York]] and [[WPBT]] in [[Miami, Florida|Miami]]. The ''[[Charlie Rose (talk show)|Charlie Rose]]'' interview show, ''[[Secrets of the Dead]]'', ''[[NOW on PBS]]'', ''[[Nature (TV series)|Nature]]'', and ''[[Cyberchase]]'' come from or through [[WNET]] in New York. Once a program is offered to, and accepted by, PBS for distribution, PBS (and not the member station that supplied the program) retains exclusive rights for rebroadcasts during the period for which such rights were granted; the suppliers do maintain the right to sell the program in non-broadcast media such as [[DVD]]s, books, and sometimes PBS [[merchandising|licensed merchandise]] (but sometimes grant such ancillary rights as well to PBS).

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PBS stations are commonly operated by [[non-profit organization]]s, state agencies, local authorities (e.g., municipal boards of education), or [[university|universities]] in their [[city of license]]. In some [[U.S. state]]s, PBS stations throughout the entire state may be organized into a single regional "subnetwork" called a [[state network]] (e.g., [[Alabama Public Television]]). Unlike public broadcasters in most other countries, PBS does not own any of the stations that broadcast its programming (i.e., there are no PBS [[owned-and-operated station]]s (O&O) anywhere in the country). This is partly due to the origins of the PBS stations themselves, and partly due to historical [[broadcast license]] issues.

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In the modern broadcast marketplace, this organizational structure is considered outmoded by some media critics. A common restructuring proposal is to reorganize the network so that each state would have one PBS member which would broadcast state-wide. However, this proposal is controversial, as it would reduce local community input into PBS programming, especially considering how PBS stations are significantly more community-oriented, according to the argument, than their [[commercial broadcasting]] counterparts.

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In 1994, ''[[The Chronicle of Philanthropy]]'', an industry publication, released the results of the largest study of charitable and [[non-profit organization]] popularity and credibility. The study showed that PBS was ranked as the 11th "most popular charity/non-profit in America" from over 100 charities researched, with 38.2% of Americans over the age of 12 choosing "love" and "like a lot" for PBS.<ref>The Charities Americans Like Most And Least, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, December 13, 1996</ref><ref>Charity begins with health, Concern over diseases cited; Karen S. Peterson; December 20, 1994; USA Today; FINAL Page 01D</ref><ref>Survey helps firms choose charities; Laura Castaneda; December 13, 1994; The Dallas Morning News; HOME FINAL Page 1D</ref><ref>Interview with Lavalle 9/7/09</ref>

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In December 2009, PBS signed up for the [[Nielsen ratings]] [[audience measurement]] reports for the first time.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gorman |first=Bill |url=http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/12/20/pbs-signs-up-for-nielsen-ratings/36822 |title=PBS Signs Up For Nielsen Ratings |publisher=Tvbythenumbers.com |date=2009-12-20 |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref>

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From the beginning of 2011, [[KCET]] ceased to be part of PBS.

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== Programming ==

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{{Main|List of programs broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service}}

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PBS stations are known for rebroadcasting British television [[costume drama]]s and [[Britcoms|comedies]] (acquired from the [[BBC]] and other sources); consequently, it has been joked that PBS means "Primarily British Series". However, a significant amount of sharing takes place. The BBC and British broadcasters such as [[Channel 4]] often cooperate with PBS stations, producing material that is shown on both sides of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. Less frequently, Canadian, Australian, and other international programming appears on PBS stations (such as ''[[The Red Green Show]]'', currently distributed by syndicator Executive Program Services); the public broadcasting syndicators are more likely to offer this programming to the U.S. public stations. PBS is also known for broadcasting British [[comedy]] and [[science fiction]] programs such as ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]'', ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'', ''[[Benny Hill|The Benny Hill Show]]'', ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Father Ted]]'', ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'', ''[[Harry Enfield and Chums]]'', ''[[Keeping Up Appearances]]'', ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', ''[[Mr. Bean]]'' and ''[[Red Dwarf]]''.

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PBS is not the only distributor of public television programming to the member stations. Other distributors have emerged from the roots of the old companies that had loosely held regional public television stations in the 1960s. [[Boston]]-based [[American Public Television]] (former names include Eastern Educational Network and American Program Service) is second only to PBS for distributing programs to U.S. non-commercial stations. Another distributor is NETA (formerly SECA), whose properties have included ''[[The Shapies]]'' and ''Jerry Yarnell School of Fine Art''.

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<!-- [http://www.netaonline.org/ NETA] -->

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In addition, the member stations themselves also produce a variety of local shows, some of which subsequently receive national distribution through PBS or the other [[television syndication|distributors]].

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[[Rerun]] programming is generally uncommon on PBS or its affiliates, with some exceptions. ''[[The Lawrence Welk Show]]'' has run continuously in reruns on PBS (through the [[Oklahoma Educational Television Authority]]) almost every weekend since 1986. Other reruns are generally from past PBS series whose hosts have retired or died (for instance, ''[[The Joy of Painting]]'' and ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]'').

Founded in 1993, PBS Kids is the brand for [[children's programming]] aired by PBS in the United States. The PBS Kids network, which was established in 1999 and ran for seven years, was largely funded by [[DirecTV]]. The channel ceased operation on October 1, 2005, in favor of a new joint commercial venture, [[PBS Kids Sprout]]. However, the original programming block still exists on PBS.

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[[PBS Kids]] has imported British children's series from the [[BBC]] and [[ITV]] (for example, ''[[Tots TV]]'', ''[[Teletubbies]]'', ''[[Boohbah]]'', and ''[[Thomas the Tank Engine]]''), as well as children's shows from Canada (i.e., ''[[The Big Comfy Couch]]'', ''[[Theodore Tugboat]]'', ''[[Wimzie's House]]'' and ''[[Polka Dot Door]]''). On June 4, 2007, their first imported Australian children's TV series debuted on PBS – ''[[RAGGS Kids Club Band|Raggs]]''. Some of the programs subsequently moved to commercial television (for example, ''[[Ghostwriter (TV series)|Ghostwriter]]'', and ''[[The Magic School Bus (TV series)|The Magic School Bus]]''). [[File:KUHT Big Bird.jpg|thumb|Big Bird of Sesame Street]]

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=== Sports ===

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Many PBS member stations, including [[Mississippi Public Broadcasting]], Georgia Public Broadcasting, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, Nebraska Educational Television, and WKYU, locally broadcast [[high school]] and college sports. From the 1980s onward, the national PBS network has not typically carried sporting events, mainly because the cost of most sports broadcast rights have become prohibitive in that time frame, especially for nonprofits with limited revenue potential.

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From 1976 to 1988, [[KQED (TV)|KQED]] produced a series of [[Fußball-Bundesliga|Bundesliga]] matches as ''[[Soccer Made in Germany]]'', with [[Toby Charles]] announcing. PBS also carried [[tennis]] events,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/940/000354875/ |title=Mary Carillo |accessdate=2012-10-15}}</ref> as well as [[Ivy League]] football. Notable football commentators included [[Upton Bell]], [[Marty Glickman]], [[Bob Casciola]], [[Brian Dowling (American football)|Brian Dowling]], [[Sean McDonough]], and [[Jack Corrigan (sportscaster)|Jack Corrigan]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Mark |url=http://www.letsgoquakers.com/football1980s.htm |title=Penn Football Tapes 1980–1989 |publisher=Letsgoquakers.com |date= |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref> Other sports programs included interview series such as ''[[The Way It Was (TV series)|The Way It Was]]'' and ''The Sporting Life''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1985_251842/jim-palmer-jockeys-from-underwear-to-pbs.html |title=Jim Palmer jockeys from underwear to PBS |publisher=Houston Chronicle |date=1985-04-17 |accessdate=2012-10-15}}</ref>

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=== Participating stations ===

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{{main|List of PBS member stations}}

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Most PBS member stations have produced at least some nationally distributed programs. Current regularly scheduled programming on the [[PBS Satellite Service|PBS national feed]] is produced by a smaller group of stations, including:

| [[PBS Satellite Service]] || 24-hour alternate network that provides a mixed variety of programming selected from PBS's regular network service, as well as for carriage on packaged satellite providers

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|}

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PBS has [[Spin out|spun-off]] a number of its [[TV network]]s, often in partnership with other media companies. [[PBS YOU]] was offered until January 2006, and largely succeeded by [[American Public Television]]'s [[Create (TV network)|Create]]; [[PBS Kids]] was replaced with [[PBS Kids Sprout|PBS KIDS Sprout]] at the start of October 2005. [[PBS World]] started operations in 2007 as PBS service, but is now managed by American Public Television.

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PBS has also restructured its satellite feed system, simplifying [[PBS-HD|PBS-DT2]] into an western timeshift feed, rather than a high-definition complement to its formerly primary SD feed. A proposed network, [[PBS Kids GO!]] was cancelled in 2006.

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Some or all are available on many [[digital cable]] systems, on [[free-to-air]] (FTA) TV via [[communications satellite]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lyngsat.com/amc21.html |title=AMC 21 at 125.0°W |publisher=LyngSat |date=2011-03-02 |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref> as well as via [[direct broadcast satellite]]. With the transition to terrestrial [[digital television]] broadcasts, many are also often now available as "multiplexed" ([[Multicast#TV multicasting|multicasting]]) channels on some local stations' standard-definition digital signals, while DT2 is found among the HD signals. PBS Kids announced that they will have an early-morning Miss Lori and Hooper block with four PBS Kids shows usually around 08:00. With the absence of [[advertising]], network identification on these PBS networks were limited to utilization at the end of the program, which includes the standard series of [[Commercial bumper|bumpers]] from the "Be More" campaign.

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=== Independent networks ===

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While not operated or controlled by PBS proper, additional public broadcasting networks are available and carried by PBS member stations.

From 2002 to 2011, [[WNED-TV]] produced [[ThinkBright|ThinkBright TV]], carried on several stations in upstate [[New York]].

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A separate but related concept is the [[state network]], where a group of stations across a state simulcast a single programming schedule from a central facility, which may include specialty [[digital subchannel]]s unique to that broadcaster.

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== Criticism and controversy ==

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=== On-the-air fundraising ===

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Since 53% to 60% of public television's revenues come from private membership donations and [[grants]],<ref name="revenue">{{cite web|url=http://www.cpb.org/stations/reports/revenue/2005PublicBroadcastingRevenue.pdf |title=Public Broadcasting Revenue Fiscal Year 2005 |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2011-03-10}}</ref> most stations solicit individual donations by methods including [[fundraising]], [[pledge drive]]s or [[telethon]]s which can disrupt regularly scheduled programming. Some viewers find this a source of annoyance since normal programming is often replaced with specials aimed at a wider audience to solicit new members and donations.<ref>{{cite web| last=Getler| first=Michael| authorlink=Michael Getler| date=2006-03-24| url=http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2006/03/pledging_allegiance_or_march_madness.html| title=Pledging Allegiance, or March Madness?| publisher=PBS Ombudsman| accessdate=2006-05-22}}</ref>

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===Accusations of political/ideological bias ===

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* A 1982 broadcast of the [[United States Information Agency]] program ''Let Poland be Poland'' about the [[End of Communism in Poland (1989)|martial law declared in Poland in 1981]] was widely viewed in the U.S., but met with skepticism on the part of European broadcasters due to concerns that the show, "provocative and anticommunist," was intended as propaganda.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0785022/ Let Poland Be Poland] (1982, TV) on IMDB</ref><ref>[http://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/uploads/Eichler_Public_Diplomacy_Hungary.pdf US Public Diplomacy in Hungary: Past and Present]{{dead link|date=December 2012}}, Edward Eichler, April 25, 2008</ref>

* [[Bill Moyers]] resigned in 2005 after more than three decades as a PBS regular, citing political pressure to alter the content of his program and saying Chairman of the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting [[Kenneth Tomlinson]] had mounted a "vendetta" against him.<ref name="farhi">Paul Farhi (April 22, 2005). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8067-2005Apr21.html PBS Scrutiny Raises Political Antennas.] ''[[The Washington Post]]''</ref> Moyers eventually returned to host ''[[Bill Moyers Journal]]'', after Tomlinson resigned. Subsequently, PBS made room temporarily for conservative commentator [[Tucker Carlson]], formerly of [[MSNBC]] and co-host of [[CNN]]'s ''[[Crossfire (TV series)|Crossfire]]'', and ''[[The Journal Editorial Report]]'' with [[Paul Gigot]], an editor of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' editorial page (this show has since moved to [[Fox News Channel]]) to partially balance out the perceived left-leaning PBS shows.<ref name="PBSBias">{{cite web|publisher=[[The Washington Times]]|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/may/04/20070504-085842-9258r/|title=PBS: Back to bias basics|date=May 4, 2007}}</ref> On November 3, 2005, CPB announced the resignation of Tomlinson amid investigations of improper financial dealings with consultants.<ref name="PBSBias" />

:* [[Template:Sports television in the United States|Sports television in the United States]]

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:* [[Template:U.S. broadcast television|U.S. broadcast television]]

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:* [[Template:World Radio Network|World Radio Network]]

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[[Category:Commercial-free television networks]]

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[[Category:Spanish-language television networks in the United States]]

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[[Category:Companies established in 1970]]

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[[Category:Corporation for Public Broadcasting]]

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[[Category:Public Broadcasting Service| ]]

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[[Category:Public television in the United States]]

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[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1970]]

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[[Category:Companies based in Virginia]]

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Revision as of 15:44, 20 March 2013

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service in the United States. PBS is affiliated with National Public Radio, American Public Media, and Public Radio International through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a entity of the federal government. Each member station is owned by independently but they share programming and funding which means they show similar programs.

PBS, along with NPR, has been accused of aiming its broadcast toward wealthy, elite segments of the American population while neglecting others, who nonethless pay for the programming. When Congress debated cutting funding for NPR and PBS, House Democrats appealed to the children's programming on PBS such as Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood (1968-2001) and Sesame Street (1969-present). Puppets of Sesame Street characters were brought into the House chambers, and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) commented: "Oscar the Grouch has been friendlier to the Sesame Street characters than President Bush." [1] Most of PBS's programming, however, is aimed at children as they feed over 12 hours of children's programming every day of the week versus 6-8 hours of adult programming.